Midwest to lay off 1200

Milwaukee's Midwest Airlines confirmed today it will lay off 1200 employees, or forty percent of its workforce. Spokesman Michael Brophy said all departments will be affected, including management – and the layoffs will be completed by mid-September. The move came as no surprise. Midwest announced in June it was shutting down a dozen M-D-80 jets used for charter flights, and for scheduled trips to the West Coast and leisure destinations. Later, Midwest said it was planning to shut down half of its Boeing 717 planes. That resulted in about half of Midwest's aircraft being grounded. And with service cuts planned, one analyst predicted that 11-hundred Midwest jobs would be dropped. That was only about 100 fewer than the official number announced this morning. These moves and others are designed to ward off Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Like other airlines, Midwest is struggling with the shaky economy and skyrocketing fuel prices.